Father Time

My Father was born May 9th, 1919. Raised on a farm in Menola, NC (don't look for it on a map, it's a small area in the middle of Ahoskie, Woodland and Murfreesboro), he was next to the youngest of 10 kids. He spent 4 years in the south pacific as a combat engineer during WWII. He came back married my Ma and had 5 kids himself (well, not himself... that would be wierd). Ma used to tell me the difference between faith and knowledge was that she knew I was hers, Pop had faith I was his... But, all you have to do is look at pictures of him and me at the same ages and you can tell. He taught me gun safety, and how to shoot, hunt and fish. Oddly enough I don't think I ever played catch with Pops. He taught me how to swing a hammer and a hoe, but not a bat. He taught me how to light a fire, split wood, drive a truck, drive a tractor, plant a garden, pick vegetables... Well, in essence, how to work. I hate to work. I am actually fairly lazy. You'ld never know by the way I work 60-80 hours every week, but I am. Pops always found something for me to do. He was always in the middle of some project or another, and I got roped in more than I care to think about. I am a consumate jack-of-all-trades because of that. All of my siblings are, every one. Build stuff, fix stuff, break stuff way beyond repair rather than admit we can't fix it...
He knew everybody. Everywhere we went someone knew "Mr. Bud". I couldn't get away with a damn thing as a kid. I always got ratted out by someone who knew my Pop. Well, thats not strictly true. I did avoid a night in lock-up once because his cousin was the magistrate on duty. (ignore that Ma) But it was damn hard to do bad stuff and not get punished.
He was respected throughout our community. He was always asked for help and advice. He was steadfast and reliable, always there when he was needed. He always had a story or a joke (something else we all inherited).
I was just twenty-two when he died. I was still pretty dumb back then. I wish I could talk to him now... Let him know that I finally grew up... Some. The older I get, the wiser my Father was. I wish I was too.